The Talk with a Stalker
by TheDragonLover
Summary: AU-ish. OC-centric. The hard part about having ninjas for friends was the fact that they always one-upped you.
1. The Talk With a Stalker

Note: I will not accept flames for this, for I wrote it for a friend of mine, not for you. I just decided to post it here anyways. Any flames will be deleted. Also, even if you don't like Naruto, this isn't too much of it and can be enjoyed anyways.

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I was walking home from school one day, glad that my short hair could still block the sun from my left eye, when I noticed that, once more, I was being followed.

This had been happening for almost months now, and it was starting to piss me off. Didn't he know by now that I knew he was there? I mean, it wasn't so much ninja skills (I don't have any -.-; ) as it was that creepy feeling of being watched and seeing things one moment that disappear the next.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn't – either way, I knew he was watching as I opened the door to my house, being greeted by eerie silence. I guessed my brother had gone to a friend's house (probably Daniel or Logan's) and I was relieved, for now I had privacy, to talk to _him._

_Finally,_ I thought as I left the front door unlocked, both to let my brother in when he came back and also as a signal that _he_ could come in – now, whether he took that as being naïve or as an invite was his problem. I sat in the living room cross-legged (my room was way too messy and embarrassing) and waited.

In no time at all, I heard the dogs start barking in the kitchen, and I smiled. _Apparently, he tried going through the back door and forgot about Daisy and Violet._ It wasn't because they were vicious dogs or anything (they were Basset Hounds, for Pete's sake!), but they were loud, and the perfect alarm system for intruders. _I wonder if he realized that I knew perfectly well that he wouldn't use the front door. And the back door is always open. Ha, a ninja like _him_ would do better to examine all of the facts of his 'mission' before executing his break-in._ Anyways, I waited to see if he would come in after that racket, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to be totally calm for the confrontation.

As soon as that breath was released, however, I felt the cold sting of some sharp blade up against my vocal chords, so close that if I breathed too deeply or talked too low I would get at least a long slice on my throat that, although not fatal, might make me dizzy and lightheaded from loss of blood. As if I wasn't dizzy enough – I had recently been sick more times the last few months than the last three years combined. I was already at a disadvantage, but he knew I didn't mean him any harm.

At least, I _hope_ he did – I didn't have any ninja skills to defend myself with or even know when he came up to me with my eyes closed, and he knew that I hang out with his cousin who hated his guts. If he _did_ decide to kill me, it's not like he'd get caught; he _was_ a ninja, after all, and although not as good as some others (his brother comes to mind immediately), he was way out of _my_ league. I only know a bit of martial arts, and although I wouldn't die without a fight, I'd still **die**. And, even if I didn't, it'd be hard to explain to Miki why I suddenly had a huge bloody bandage on my neck without letting it slip that it was her cousin's doing.

Why, you might ask, would I be protecting who my friend hated, the enemy of my friend, who had been stalking me for quite some time? Well…I'm not really sure. I mean, it's not pride, because I could care less if someone called me a wimp, and it certainly wasn't out of pity, for he'd come back and kill me for it either way. I guess I was…curious. I wanted to know why he did what he did, hid from my view, and followed me all day except when I was around Miki. Of course, they say that 'curiosity killed the cat', but I'm not a cat and I could die anyways so I might as well be curious.

I heard him grunt quietly, "Don't move," and if he didn't have a weapon up to my throat I would've probably growled back, "Not like I have a _choice…._" To tell you the truth, I had been having a bad day, so I wasn't in the mood for some fancy ninja-stuff. I wanted to scream at him, "If you're going to kill me, do it now before suspense beats you to it!" I didn't, of course.

Slowly, he lowered whatever it was from its dangerous position and I felt the movement of the cushion beside me, which surprised me as I didn't think he'd relax _that_ much around me. When he said I could open my eyes, I glanced over and found that he instead was sitting on the back of the couch with his feet resting on the seat cushion, and I thought, _Should have figured._ He had his hands clasped together in that mafia-gang-leader-examining-his-prey pose, as if he had the same curiosity as I did for him.

Was that why he didn't kill me? I'd have to ask him, I guess.

He leaned back a bit, almost like taking a step back to look at a painting, before asking me, "You do know that I could kill you anytime I want, right?"

"Yes," I answered seriously, for I know the danger I was in. "I also am fully aware that you could get away with it scot-free, even if I tried to create evidence before I died."

I knew how crafty ninjas could be (past experiences with Naruto taught me that), and apparently he was somewhat impressed by my solemn expression for he returned his position forward to that scrutinizing stare of his. I was surprised he wasn't using Sharingan, but I guess he didn't need to with me.

"So," I began another conversation with a question, "why does Miki hate you so much?"

His thoughtful expression twisted into a scowl at this, and he muttered, "She doesn't understand anything, about me _or_ my bastard brother." His voice was strained with contained anger, and it made me wonder why he held it back. Maybe it was some type of super-ninja training or something – whatever it was, I don't think it was healthy.

"Oh," was all I said as I waited for something to happen. I didn't think I should delve any further at the moment and so I instead sat quietly as he seemed to mull over information he had, eyes always on me to keep watch on my movements. I shuffled a bit to get into a more comfortable position and watched as his gaze flickered before finally he spoke.

"Why don't _you_ hate me?"

I tilted my head curiously (a subconscious movement that he followed once more with his eyes), and hummed, "Hm?"

He shifted so his hands left to support his chin, keeping his gaze steady. "You're friends with _her,_" he avoided saying her name as he did for his brother, "and yet you do not join in her antics."

By "antics", I assumed he meant her jokes and taunting, saying that she could kick his ass easily. I blinked once with thought, and then smiled. "Well, I _did_ say your hair looked like a duck."

He scowled, but I was sure that he was slightly relieved to finally be able to squeeze me into a category or two: "weird" and "crazy". After all, I _was_ taunting a very skilled ninja about his 'do, and from my previous experiences with "men" I've found that they are actually quite vain of their hair.

Speaking of hair, my air-conditioning doesn't work and the fans all sucks, so I kept blowing and pushing back my hair as it clung to my face and irritated me. Stupid hair. I should cut it shorter, like Naruto's except not blone. Hm, I wonder if I could get it to stick up in spikes like his….

Anyways, I guessed it was my turn to speak with all of the silence, and so I asked, "Are you running to or from something?" That was a tricky question with no right or wrong answer, I know, but I meant it to be; it would show me how clever the "Uchiha prodigy" really was.

And I found that the answer was "extremely", for he trained his gaze onto mine in a mental challenge and tossed it right back into my court with, "Where are _you_ running to?" Damn, he was good. It was half-insult half-question, the bastard.

But I liked the way he thought, avoiding the bullet and shooting right back all in one fluid motion. I smiled. _If he sticks around long enough, things might get interesting…._ "I don't run," I then answered, "I just walk briskly." _And let him take that however he likes._ I had dodged his bullet too, and now it was my turn to fire right back.

"What do you strive for?"

"Revenge," was the first word immediately out of his mouth, but then he added as an afterthought, "understanding, completion…and you?"

"Peace" was my first answer, but I decided instead to get to the root of it by saying, "Open minds, open hearts, and understanding, too." I could have made a comment about the "revenge" bit, but anything that went like "it will devour you from the inside out and rot you to your core" was corny, cliché and wouldn't get through to him anyways, so for that I just bit my tongue.

His go.

"Why would you want open minds, open hearts? Why would you want everyone to know your thoughts? Your personal secrets? Fears? Ideas? Reasons? Past? Everything?" He seemed rather annoyed by the prospect of that.

"Isn't understanding the same as an open mind?"

He shook his head. "Why would you burden yourself with other people's problems, foolishness, hatred…." I felt he was leaving something out, but I didn't press him as he repeated, "Why?"

I thought long and hard about this question, for the nearly fevered way he had said it showed that his impression of me was at stake here (and maybe even my life). I had to answer this perfectly – and yet, imperfectly – right in between.

Perfectly flawed? Or flawed perfection?

"Humans are selfish," I finally told him, "and are easily led by temptation and curiosity. I want to poke into people's lives and learn all about them, become their friend, and help them in any way I can, and it makes me feel…." I was going to say "good", but that was such a weak word. "I feel as if I am special and can make a difference, and I enjoy the praise and thanks I get from those I help because it makes me feel proud of myself."

Hopefully his cynical mind would view that in a semi-positive way (for him), or at least not label me as "dumb" as well. And apparently, that was all he needed, for he did not push me for more and I did not give him more. We were at a stalemate.

But, no, we weren't, for I had given him two real answers while he had only given my one. And yet, I felt that that was good enough for now, for one was always more comfortable when in the lead and he was no exception.

Then, I heard knocking, but as I turned in alarm to the front door, he simply got up calmly from the couch – the door I had originally left open was now locked.

_Damn ninja._

I told my brother "hold on" through the door before turning to my stalker as he began to coolly walk to my room (to jump out of my window, no doubt). "Wait," I called after him, desperate now for another answer to even the playing field and put me at ease, "why have you been following me?" The blue-shirt wearing ninja turned to give me an indifferent glance, but nothing more.

After a moment of silence, the front door opened as my brother shouted, "Never mind, I had my keys."

"There's a shock," I mumbled when I glanced at him, and then I looked back to my room with disappointment. As expected, it was empty, and even the window had been carefully closed.

Sasuke was gone.

_~Fin~_


	2. The Second Meeting

Note: I will not accept flames for this, for I wrote it for a friend of mine, not for you. I just decided to post it here anyways. Any flames will be deleted. Also, even if you don't like Naruto, this isn't too much of it and can be enjoyed anyways.

Alright, I decided to submit this sequel to the previous chapter, and I may do so with the other parts I've written if you all like this - short - submission (did I use that in the right context? Oh, well).

P.S.: German rock bands are AWESOME! *shot* Okay, okay, seriously, enjoy the story!

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I was walking through school to the cafeteria, my stomach rumbling with greedy hunger, and I fully intended on mooching off of my friends before Fate intervened at the worst of times. Suddenly, a stiff arm wrapped around my shoulder and started to direct me away from my destination, and I turned and began to protest to this before catching the sight of a familiar pair of blue eyes and a heedful of spiky black hair. Any retorts died in my throat, and his icy gaze penetrated my thoughts of panic as he told - no, commanded, "Let's go for a walk."

It's not like I could say "no" with the hold he already had on me, and the bastard knew that I'd rather not cause a scene in the middle of a throng of people, so I bowed my head and watched our feet as they carried us down a hallway in the opposite direction of the aroma of nachos and loud chatter of people.

_Dammit, I'm _hungry!

He seemed able to ignore my stomach's growling, and so I attempted to do the same by pushing away my thoughts of food and turning my gaze to him to ask, "Where to?" He tipped his head forwarding display, and I blinked and inquired curiously, "The library?"

Not the best "private" place to talk. After all, I had always come here when I was bored or had no lunch (which was often), and I knew many of my friends went there, too. That made me all the more wary. _What is he planning?_

Instead of going inside, however, we went around, and realization must have dawned on my face because I saw him smirk as we ducked behind the building for privacy. I still didn't know why, though. After all, hadn't we already had a "lovely chat"? He finally took his arm off of me and walked briskly to some chairs stationed behind the media center, and with a sigh I followed and plopped myself unceremoniously in one while he did so with more grace.

Having no idea as to the reason pertaining to this sudden meeting, I was completely reliant on him to start the conversation. I turned my gaze to the ninja expectantly, waiting a while before blinking and saying, "Well…?"

He looked at me as if to say "well, what?" and I told him _exactly _"what."

"You dragged me away from food, company, and most importantly food, you're taunting me with books right behind me, and frankly I'm not in a good mood." I crossed my arms. "So, talk or I'm leaving."

"Oh, really?"

Suddenly, I found myself pinned against the chair with his hands holding my arms down, and I struggled for a moment as he grinned (lightheartedly? I don't know.) down at me and my attempts. "Funny, I don't see you going anywhere."

"Cheater," I mumbled sourly, and he surprised me by chuckling and standing up to lean against the wall casually. I looked at him then, and I could swear he was relaxed. But, why? Well, I guess it made sense since I couldn't exactly "beat him up," but still…it gave the illusion that we were "hanging out."

"So," he tilted his head to rest in the groove where the walls met at a ninety degree angle, "you have a little brother."

"If you kill him, I'll never say a bad thing about your hair again."

He just smirked. I think he was enjoying the grimace on my face.

"Six?"

"What?"

"His age. Is he six?"

"Oh. No, he's…nine, I think."

He raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"Yeah…look, I don't keep track of things like that! I can't even remember if he's in second or third grade!"

He got a kick out of that. "How old are you?"

"…Fifteen."

"You had to think about it."

"Shut up!" I was getting kind of angry now. "Look, I'm hungry, tired, and kinda cold, and you aren't helping at -"

"Stop your whining," he sighed, tossing something cold at me that I fumbled to catch. I glanced at the wrapper, reading "Cookies N' Cream Ice Ccream Sandwich," and said, "That won't warm me -" Glancing at the wall only to see it empty, my ears barely caught scuffling as I turned my gaze to the roof of the library. "- up…"

I sighed, opened the ice cream, and got up to go to the cafeteria once more, but I stopped in the hall to throw away the wrapper. Finishing it there, I stood there until B lunch went back to their classes when I saw Sasuke's cousin, Miki. I waved and smiled warmer than I felt, telling her, "Hey." She waved and walked off, and I wondered if I should tell her about the meeting.

"I'll do it in Science," I decided and then backtracked to the library to check out some books by Anne McCaffrey. I had some reading to do.

_~Fin~_


	3. Third Time's the Charm?

This chapter is short and more random than anything, so if you don't get what the point of the whole thing is, there probably isn't one. Eheh…yeah, I wrote it while being extremely tired, which sort of fits the story a bit, but still…this was random. Keep that in mind while reading.

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I am _so_ lucky I slept with decent clothes on.

Actually, I should be saying _he's_ so lucky. The bastard came into my room while I was sleeping! Ugh, I wish I could strangle him, but he's a ninja! _Gah!_

Okay, I'll calm down and tell you what happened.

Alright, so I randomly woke up for no reason, looked at the clock and saw that it was one or two in the morn'. Yawning, I turned to face the foot of my bed (I sleep sideways on it so I can smack my clock when the alarm goes off), and blinked.

Guess what?

He was right there!

I closed my eyes, thinking I was delirious in my half-conscious state, but when I opened them again he was still there. Or was that a shadow?

I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

Nope, that was him.

Right on cue, his hand flew to cover my mouth as I screamed, muffling the sound as my eyes widened in fear. As if reading my mind, he shook his head to answer my unspoken question ("Are you going to kill me?"). After making sure I wasn't going to freak out again, the hand slid away to instead hold his pointer to his own mouth to emphasize the need for quiet.

Nodding to show that I understood, I frowned at him as I realized that, if this was one of those nights where the heat was unbearable, he could have caught me wearing embarrassing pajamas. Finding this all infuriating as it was, I grew angrier at the reminder that I still didn't know why he bothered me. The rage got to me for enough time that I suddenly smacked him – like in those movies where the women are getting payback. I guess I caught him by surprise, since he didn't raise a hand to stop mine (which he _so_ easily could have done), but in reality I shocked even myself. _That's the first time I have ever stood up for myself…and it felt _good_. _

"What was _that_ for?" I returned my attention to Sasuke hissing at me as he covered the red handprint forming there, and I narrowed my eyes as I told him upfront, "You snuck into my room? Why the hell are you in here? And how?"

"Shhh!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, my family is made of heavy sleepers. It's genetic."

Still cupping his hurt face, his sour look softened a little, probably at the humorous image of my family sleeping through a hurricane or something. They would, too. I know I did when I was a little baby. But anyways, he seemed to accept that explanation after listening for anybody waking or door opening, and he turned to me and raised an eyebrow at the stuffed animal (a black Labrador) on my lap staring at him.

I picked the toy up and hugged it protectively, defending it, "His name is Smokey, and he's a puppet!" I moved his mouth to show it, but the ninja just rolled his eyes at me like I was a child. Well…I'm childish, but I'm not _a child!_ I was around his age, for crying out loud! And I was tired, so immediately I'm exempt from criticism for my actions. I told him this, too.

"Alright, I'll try not to laugh at you."

I gave him a "humph!" and hugged Smokey before using it as a pillow and turning my back to him. I couldn't sleep, however, because I could feel his eyes boring into my back. After a while of pretending, I finally rolled over and glared at him, asking grumpily, "Can I _sleep_ now?"

He shrugged and said, "Sure, go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

"Ugh!" I went back to my not-looking-at-the-bastard position scrunching my eyes shut, determined to go to sleep with or without him there. He ended up chuckled at me anyways, but (to my credit) I just ignored him.

"Your clothes are all over your floor, you know."

I didn't answer. He was trying to keep me awake, I could tell, although I didn't know why. Maybe it was just to annoy me.

"There's a tiger, too."

I twitched, and I couldn't help but correct him, "Puppy."

"What?"

"That's the tiger's name."

"Brown cat?"

"Pounce. She's a Beanie Baby."

"White?"

"Auntie, a bigger Baby."

"Who's Uncle?"

"The husky."

"Oh."

Quiet.

_Finally…._

"The green snake?"

I sighed. "Boa…."

"Bunny things?"

"…What?" I didn't have bunnies. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before turning to see where he was pointing. Sitting there were two cream-colored plushies, one with blue ears and the other with red ears. "Oh!" I laughed. "That's Plusie and Ninum. They're a part of a childhood gaming franchise with animals that have superpowers."

He looked at me funny. "Okay…." I smiled at his weirded-out and confused expression. _That's how people normally look at me._ It didn't bother me in the least.

I guess eventually I fell asleep because I woke up suddenly at 6:50 and scurried to get dressed, eat something and run out the door. I told my friend (we take the same bus) the whole thing and she again expressed her interest of kicking her cousin's ass. I just nodded my head silently as I wondered if he ever actually left my house….

_~Fin~_

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Btw, if any of you get that "animals with superpowers" thing, I'll give you an e-cookie and maybe even a sneak preview/idea/OC/something-or-other of your choice!


	4. Four Corners 'Round About

_I apologize for the great delay between this and last chapter, but the notebook I had written fourth and fifth chapter on went missing for months, and I never got around to rewriting it until now. I don't believe in giving excuses, but I didn't want you all to be confused. It's all my fault, and I'm sorry._

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It's very disconcerting when you can't even find any peace in a library. It's even _more_ disturbing when it's your _stalker_ that's disturbing the peace. I never thought he'd carry around a library card.

I had been looking for something to help me on my history assignment (I dearly want to punch my teacher), and then I stepped into an aisle only to find that someone else was right there. "Oh, excuse–" I stopped when I realized it was Sasuke, scowling. "_What're you–_"

He quieted me by suddenly placing a rough fingertip on my lips, whispering mischievously, "Sh. It's a _library._" Satisfied when I rolled my eyes in agitation, he relieved me of my silencer before returning to the shelves to pluck a hardcover from its brethren–I entertained myself for a moment by imagining their horrified screams before I noticed said book was now in my face. When I frowned in confusion, he enlightened me with a smug grin. "You have an assignment?"

I skimmed the cover and realized it was perfect for my project, and I gave a quiet huff before snatching it from him and stomping further down the aisle to avoid looking at his eyes. He was always taunting and teasing me, and it was getting a bit ridiculous. I was an enemy or something to him, right? _If I said I hated you _now,_ would you go away?_ I sighed as I figured he would be able to see through the lie, although it was partially true since he was getting me so aggravated. Did he want a cookie for being such an annoying guy?

I grabbed a few more books before scurrying over to one of the tables–where he was, of course–and sitting at the opposite end he was, laying them all in a row to decide which one to look through first. Using a bit of eenie-meenie power, I originally landed on Sasuke's book, but I bit my lip and added another word to the rhyme so it landed on the one beside it. _I'm so immature._ I began my investigation as I waited for my mother to return with her library card.

After five minutes of skimming that book, I grew bored of it and shoved it aside, picking another book to dive into before I realized that the ninja had changed seats and was sitting across from me with the book he had picked out for me. At my strangled cry, he raised a finger to silence me before memorizing his page and glancing up with feigned innocence. I gestured wildly to the book, and he answered calmly, "I'm helping."

"I don't _need_ your help," I hissed, then verified that no one was preparing to shush me before going back to my task. I had gotten through twenty pages of skimming before it was suddenly covered by his book with a finger pointing delicately at a paragraph. "_What?_"

"There." I scanned the page and realized it was exactly what I needed–and he knew it, if his smug tone was anything to go by. "You're welcome."

I grudgingly took out my notebook to write my interpretation of the time, occasionally being interrupted when he found an interesting tidbit in another novel and decided to show me. When my mother texted me to get my things ready, I saw Sasuke strolling over to the check-out counter with his own bag of books. He cast a cheerful grin in my direction just as Mom walked in, and I ducked to avoid her questioning gaze as I cursed him for all he was worth. _Now Mom's going to tease me about picking up suitors . . ._

All-in-all, it could've gone worse, but it certainly could've gone better. I was guarded on the day of my presentation, looking out of every window to make sure he wasn't watching me in secret, and when he randomly appeared later (as always) I interrogated him only to get a smirk. I couldn't tell if it was a "the things I know" smirk or a "you're so paranoid" smirk. A few days afterward, I found a sticky note in suspiciously neat handwriting on returning my books to the library. I scowled, crumpled it into a ball to try to land it into my wastebasket, and then pestered my parents to take me back to the library. I knew I'd see him there, and I was curious about what books he would read.

_~Fin~_

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_In case anyone is curious, I've planned each chapter based on a certain theme, which should be rather obvious if you look at the chapter titles. This story has actually become a full-fledged story and not just a thing I write for fun; there's actually a plot in all of this madness. There will be three total arcs of sorts to this story, and each arc will have its own little theme. E-Cookies for whoever guesses the next arcs themes!_

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_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	5. Five Points to Start With

_Two chapters in one night. Don't you feel special?_

_And here's where things begin to change. A turning point, if you will._

* * *

I don't hate him.

Despite all of the things I say, all the curses I throw–despite everything, I don't actually _hate_ Sasuke. I guess I never really could, because Miki's anger is not my own and I have no other "reason" to scorn him. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," but what does that make me if I'm the friend of my friend's enemy?

I might not know why he follows me, I might get irritated by his arrogance, I might wish he'd leave me alone, I might imagine I was pummeling his hot-air-filled head, and I might be tempted to tell his cousin about all of the things he's done . . . but, I don't care, I'm used to it, I've given up, it's pointless, and I won't. Besides, I have five reasons I _shouldn't_ hate him–valid ones. They all occurred on the same night, too.

It all started three weeks ago while I was hanging out with some of my friends; one's brother came along and tried to hang out with us, but because he was only ten-years-old, we decided to pick on him. He started to throw colorful words around, and we poked fun at him "trying to act tough" and told him to go to bed. He left us crying, and twenty minutes later we learned he had run away from home. Suddenly, we didn't feel so good about ourselves anymore. We were afraid he was going to get himself hurt. He was found soon afterwards, but that event scared me into choosing my words carefully.

Two days later, bad became worst: The kid had committed suicide. I didn't even know kids his age knew what suicide _was_. Everyone took it bad, but I was the most distraught of the group after realizing that I should've known better and stopped the bullying instead of making things worse by joining in. I felt like _I_ had killed him, and I cried for days whenever I thought about it. It was the most somber period of my life since my grandmother had died, and it made me feel even worse than I had when I was eight. At least she died of cancer. There was no way I could've blamed myself for _that._

The third night after I heard the news, I was curled up under the covers with bits of moonlight creeping through my blinds, waiting for exhaustion to step in and hopefully throw me into a deep, dreamless sleep. It wasn't working, however, and I was just trying to dry my eyes when I heard my door open rather loudly. I froze, praying it wasn't my family, but I was half-relieved half-horrified when I heard a soft "hn" before the door was closed behind the intruder. Realizing it was Sasuke, I tried to slow my breathing and closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice that I wasn't really asleep. Unfortunately, he didn't move a muscle for a very long time, and eventually I grew tired of his scrutiny and peeked at him from under the blanket. He was simply staring at the lump on the bed with unblinking eyes, and he looked a bit disappointed for some reason. Was I supposed to say something? _I'm not in the mood to talk._

"You've been crying."

I grimaced and withdrew into my fluffy sanctuary, not bothering to reply to his obvious statement as I scrunched my eyes shut so tightly the salt irritated them. _Go away._ I didn't want to deal with his taunting, and I certainly didn't want to play any mind games with him. I was mentally worn out.

However, he didn't laugh, tease or ridicule me in any way, despite my previous expectations. That's the first reason. Instead, he gave a soft sigh, and I watched his shadow from under my blanket as he flicked on the light (probably so I could see, since he's a ninja). His disappointment made his exhalation sound very heavy, leaving me mildly curious but mostly uninterested in what he wanted from me. If it was truly important, he would tell me. Then he leaned over me, and I closed my eyes just before he yanked off the covers and exposed me to the slightly chilly room and his searching gaze. I tried to hide my face, but he pulled me into a sitting position and smoothed the collar of my pajama shirt with stiff care. I slit one eye just enough to determine he was staring straight at me before closing it and trying to put on a calm mask, taking deep breaths to calm my raging heart. He was probably looking straight into my soul.

"Hn. Wait here."

I didn't open my eyes until he had closed the door behind him again, and then I covered my face with my hands as I tried to stop the tears from flowing. I was extremely embarrassed to have been seen in such a weak state, let alone by _him_, and I was almost wishing this was all a dream. I was still in that mortified position when Sasuke returned, and it wasn't until he prodded my hands mutely that I looked up to notice the mug of warm tea in his hand. Reason number two. He handed it to me carefully, and I relished the transfer of heat to my palms before looking up at him quietly with resigned gratitude.

No words were said, but he seemed to understand as he nodded in response–the third reason. He hadn't rubbed it in, and I was utterly grateful for that.

"It's hot," he warned when I tried to drink it, so I gingerly took a sip after blowing the steam away several times. Reason number four.

Reason number five was simply the fact that he stayed long after the tea was finished, and he even put away the cup as an added bonus. I didn't tell him anything, but I was sure he had found out on his own because he didn't ask about it (his curiosity rivals mine). Even if he had, I wouldn't have been able to tell him anything without bursting into tears again. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but his presence seemed to calm me down a bit and greatly reduced the gallons of tears I cried. We didn't speak at all, but whenever we met each other's gaze we understood exactly what wasn't being said.

_Thank you,_ I told him, lips pursed into a tight, grim line.

_Hn,_ was his content response, giving a half-shrug as he tried to ignore my gratitude like it wasn't a big deal–but it was.

I can never hate him. Be mad at him? Sure. Want to hurt him? Hell yeah. But hate him? Not a chance. He'd sooner dye his hair blond and wear an orange jumpsuit.

_~Fin~_

* * *

_As an interesting bit of trivia, the original fifth chapter had the main character pondering if he had used genjutsu to create the illusion that he was helping her, but I deemed that idea to odd to put in the rewrite and scrapped it. It was interesting, but it didn't fit into the flow of things._

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_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	6. Six O'Clock Alarm

_I decided to upload this one not even a day after four and five were up because I have the first arc completed and am now working on the second one. Otherwise, it's just sitting on the computer doing nothing, and that wouldn't be nice to the readers._

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Sometimes, I remember I still haven't figured out why he follows me.

I woke up at six after the alarm on my cell went off, as I had been for a few days, and decided to get myself some breakfast. Grabbing the box of chocolate and marshmallow cereal (possibly one of the most sugar-filled breakfasts ever), I poured it into a bowl with some milk and sat down at the counter to eat. Picking up my spoon and scooping some up, I drained the milk away before eating it. It was a habit of mine to avoid drinking the milk, because I found the flavor and aftertaste as bad as liquid cough medicine. Apparently, it was a weird habit.

"What's the point of the milk, then?"

I jumped with a squeak, almost making a mess of my cereal, before I turned and saw Sasuke sitting on the stool beside me with an innocent "I've been here the whole time, you just didn't notice" look on his face. I scowled at him, utterly perturbed because I could never sense when he was around, and replied, "Well, I don't like the milk, but it makes it easier to swallow the cereal." I then saw the powdered donut in his hand, remembered that we had one in the fridge, and hissed accusingly, "Hey, you _stole_ that from us!"

He only shrugged, taking a bite out of the pastry as he watched me. Feeling a bit creeped out, I quickly finished my bowl and poured out the remaining milk so I could go sit on the couch and quietly watch television. He followed me, however, and when I turned on the TV to see a group of old women talking he snorted in disgust. I scowled at him. "_You_ don't have the remote, so–_hey!_" I was noticeably remote-less all of a sudden, and he was flipping through the channels. I reached over only to have him simply hold me back with two fingers on my forehead. That pissed me off even more. "Give it back!"

"You're going to wake them up," he replied instead, referring to my raised tone of voice. I glowered at him, knowing that he knew how heavy my family slept, but decided it wasn't worth the effort and just pouted as he picked a show to watch. When he stopped on an educational channel with a documentary on wolves, I perked up a bit, and he asked curiously, "You like these shows?"

"Hell yeah," I replied. "It has wolves!"

He gave a mildly amused "hn" before settling down to watch it with me, and I turned my full attention to the screen and listened to the narrator tell the story of a boy who had gotten dragged out of camp while he was sleeping. After wondering how he could sleep through that, I scowled at the CGI-rendered scene. "Geez, they make the wolf out to be the bad guy! It's _their_ faults for just sleeping in sleeping bags instead of a tent!" I think he was watching me, but I didn't glance over to verify that as I was too busy glaring at the screen. The narrator was starting to get me pissed, and I darkly grumbled ways to make him change his opinion on how "evil" wolves were. "It's almost as bad as Shark Week . . ."

He seemed interested in my irritation. "You're really mad at this?"

"Yeah!" I turned to look at him, brows furrowed. "I mean, hell, a wolf's a predator, so of _course_ it's going to eat something. That's its _job_, basically." I went back to staring at the screen, mumbling, "That's like suing a boxer for breaking another boxer's nose in a fight."

He didn't respond with anything other than another "hn", which I guess was all I could expect from him. I went back to watching television, and I think he snuck away during the show because I was alone when my dad walked in an hour later. I of course didn't tell him about our visitor–because how in the world would I explain that? I imagine the conversation would go something like this:

"Oh, Dad, a ninja-guy was in the house this morning, by the way."

"What? Why was he in here?"

"He's stalking me."

"_Why?_"

"I . . . to be honest, I have no clue."

I didn't want my dad to call the police, either, because it wasn't like Sasuke was doing anything _bad._ He was just . . . popping in to startle me, that's all. Or at least, that's what I think he's doing. Should I be worried?

_~Fin~_

* * *

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")  
_


	7. Seven Times the Awesome

_Yes, I'm having fun uploading a chapter or two a day. I should try, like, a theme sort of thing this way, just choosing a certain fandom and a random word and trying to write even a 100 word drabble with it. It sounds rather fun, actually._

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I really need to learn to not think out loud–it's gotten me into _enough_ trouble as it is.

I was hanging out at Miki's house, since we were going to the movies with another buddy, and examining a book of artwork based on people I knew. Flipping through the pages and giving exclamations of awe and amazement at the proper times, I finally got to the end and closed the book. On the back was a picture of Sasuke and his Chidori, and I let myself sit there and be envious of the ninja while Miki took care of something on the other side of the house. I shook my head as I stared at his face, mumbling, "Damn it, Sasuke, why do you have to look so _awesome?_" I had been referring to his technique at the time . . .

" "Awesome," am I?"

But he didn't seem to know that.

I jerked my attention to the window to see him precariously perched there, smirking at me as if he knew my deepest, darkest secrets. (Well, he _is_ a ninja . . . boy, that's not reassuring.) At first I was furious that he was spying on me yet again, but then I realized he was in mortal danger and jumped up from the bed to wave my arms frantically in warning. "You shouldn't be here! She'll come back any second!"

His smile was too smug for my liking. "I'll know." Then he quickly turned my words against me. "You actually care? I'm touched."

Throwing my hands in the air in a show of defeat, I flopped back onto the bedspread and shoved the book aside to cross my arms in a display of my impotent wrath. "_No._ Blood's just hard to get out of the carpet, that's all." I was sure he would respond with some sarcastic remark or another, but something shiny caught my eye and my gasp interrupted whatever he was going to say. "Oh my–is that a _dragon statue?_"

He frowned and looked at the three-foot statue I was referring to, examining the way the claw curled around a glass sphere before returning his attention to me. An aloof hum was his only reply. I scurried before the figure and tentatively brushed the dragon's snout, and I whispered just loud enough so Sasuke would hear, "Forget _you_–this statue is _beyond_ awesome_._" I was satisfied with his irritated "hn," slightly amused that he was jealous of an inanimate object. When Miki entered the room a moment later, I caught myself turning to see if the ninja had left and reasoned he most likely had since she wasn't throwing a hissy fit. After a bit of fussing over her amazing collection of figurines, we went off to the movie theatre.

I'm sure I would have enjoyed the movie if it wasn't so confusing, and if I wasn't turning my head every minute to try to catch a glimpse of the ninja I was sure was there, but it was a blast to go watch it with my friends. We drove back laughing the entire trip and were dropped off with a few jokes, and I had almost forgotten about my stalker . . . until I caught him waiting at my front door after my friends had pulled away. My back stiffened as I wondered how I could possibly have missed him–forget that it was dark and that he was a ninja, that just _wasn't possible_–but he didn't give me the chance.

He beckoned to my door and took one step back, giving my exasperated expression an arrogant grin in return. "Welcome back."

I scowled, unable to think of a retort that didn't include the words "your face" or something else equally immature. "You didn't stalk us to the movie theatre and back, did you?"

He raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "No–and I don't _stalk._" He glared when I snorted, as if I didn't have the energy to object anything.

My voice dripped with irritated sarcasm. "Oh, you just happen to be everywhere I'm at."

"Of course." His smirk returned, and he switched subjects rather smoothly. "What movie did you all see?"

"A confusing one." At his arched eyebrow, I sighed with barely contained frustration and grasped my doorknob. "Come inside and I'll tell you about it, if you're _really_ that curious."

_~Fin~_

* * *

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")  
_


	8. I HEight Sudoku

_Eventually, I'll get reviews for this story. It's not my main point of writing this, anyways. It's all in good fun. I do like to hear if other people enjoyed/abhorred it, though. Hugs are sweet, and even flames keep me warm at night. (Ignore whatever I said about flames in the past, I've certainly matured since then.)_

* * *

Math is the root of all evil–I'm sure of it.

I bit my lip, frowning at the piece of paper in front of me. There were so many numbers . . . how the hell was I supposed to find them all? This game made no sense! _Who the hell _thought_ of this, anyways?_ I wasn't doing so hot in Math and had to do extra credit if I wanted to pass the class, but this was impossible! I had to find all of the missing numbers and put them into the correct spots so they didn't repeat in any column, row or box–Sudoku. If I wasn't good at Math, what made my teacher think I could do this?

"What are you doing?" I jumped as always but refrained from sighing or groaning because my full attention was on the work in front of me. He seemed to have noticed the level of concentration I was directing towards the desk, because I felt him lean a bit closer as if it now peaked his curiosity. "Hn." He stood behind me and looked over my shoulder, probably staring at the paper as intently I did. "You've only filled in one square."

"Shut it." I wasn't in the mood for his taunting. "This is hard." I was sure that the evilest being on the planet had concocted this puzzle just to frustrate me, and it was revealed that it was working when my voice came out mostly as a growl.

"No, it's not." When I gave an aggravated huff at his confidence, I was sure he rolled his eyes before picking up the neglected pencil lying beside the paper. "Here, let me show you." Leaning down a bit to work over my shoulder, I felt the front of his shirt touching the back of mine and was suddenly very conscious of how close he was to me–Sasuke, the ninja, my stalker, Miki's enemy and cousin . . .

Speaking of which, when did we get so close? Here I was, having trouble with homework, and here he was, assisting me when I was supposed to do it myself . . . not to mention the fact that if we were seen hanging out together, Miki would have both of our heads. And I'm sure it didn't look like he was attacking me when he was leaning over me, pencil in hand, trying to figure out a simple number puzzle . . . She would get the completely wrong impression. _But what's the right one? Are we friends, or what?_

I was brought out of my thoughts when he grunted and dropped the pencil, bringing my attention to the nearly finished paper as he moved to sit across from me. I felt his eyes on me, but I chose to ignore him as I pieced together what he had filled in and tried to complete the remaining empty squares. It wasn't as hard as it was before, although still a bit confusing, and after a while of being directed by the occasional "hn" of approval or warning I had finished. I gave a relieved sigh before I scooted the paper away from me, as if it was going to attack me for doing such a horrible job at it. _I hope Ms. Cauldik can't talk to paper or something equally disturbing._

"You know," I pointed out as I moved to place it in my backpack to give to my teacher later, "I was technically supposed to do this myself." Not that I really cared, but I just never imagined I would be assisted by Sasuke, with anything. He shrugged at that, and I sighed at his indifference as I shook my head. "What if I have a guilty conscience and tell the teacher that I had help?" _What a lie._

He smirked. "Then you can put _my_ name on it."

I scowled. "Fat chance. If I'm going to cheat in the first place, I'm going to make it look like I did it." I zipped my backpack up rather roughly as I scoffed over how ridiculous his idea was. _I know he's just teasing me or something, but _come on_. That's not even _worth_ suggesting. _He laughed at my agitation.

_~Fin~_

* * *

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")  
_


	9. A Friend of Nine

If I hadn't been "blessed" with becoming used to Sasuke's random appearances, I would've eventually been given a heart attack. An example of my abundant knowledge of him and his surprising ways is when I went on an exercise trail through the fenced-in woods a block from my house. I wasn't surprised when I felt eyes on my back, and I hardly faltered when I thought I heard leaves crackling like an echo of my footsteps. I did jump when he was suddenly at my side, but the suspense had been killing me at that point, and I was expecting it.

"Good afternoon," I mumbled, not bothering to look at his face because I knew the arrogant expression that would be on it. Knowing he would do whatever he liked without caring how I felt, I decided to not even attempt to oppose him and kept my focus ahead of me.

His strides were even with mine, not hurried but certainly not sluggish, and I made it to the first stop before hearing a response from him–and it wasn't much of a response, anyways. "Hn." He simply crossed his arms without a word, and I glanced at him with mild curiosity before I stepped into the center of the clearing to read the board for the warm-ups. Seeing nothing too strenuous, I shrugged and began to twist my torso in an undemanding tempo. I tried to ignore him for as long as possible, but his amusement swelled throughout my warm-ups until I could hear him audibly snickering at my antics. I cast him a glare, but he only raised an eyebrow at me until I huffed and explained what I was doing.

"It's an exercise trail. I've gotta warm up beforehand." I then went on with ignoring him, doing the last few toe-touches before straightening up and trotting down the path. He followed, no doubt, and I think I was annoying him. I smirked to myself. _The medicine tastes bitter, doesn't it?_ Satisfied with my accomplishment, I remained silent for the minute jog to the next stop, where three parallel logs and suspended metal rings awaited me. Glancing down at the logs, I then examined the sign and realized I only had to hop over them. "Well, _that's_ easy." Deciding to do the number of repetitions for "champs," I went one way, then back, and then through it again before skipping energetically over to the rings. One pair was short enough for me to reach comfortably, and I grasped them before reading the instructions for "torso twirls." Lifting my feet off of the ground so I hung from the rings, I spun my hips around and giggled ecstatically as I began to spin in a circle until I was staring into Sasuke's face.

He had the most bizarre expression towards my actions that caused me to collapse on the ground in a fit of giggles. I think the fresh air was getting to me, or maybe the cookies I had earlier that day were finally kicking in. Standing up and brushing the mulch from my rear, I grinned sheepishly before going on to the next exercises, which happened to be chin-ups and step-ups. I could never manage to do a chin-up so I avoided it altogether, but while I stepped on and off the wooden peg I nearly stumbled when the ninja questioned, "Why aren't you doing _those?_" When I made a face that clearly showed I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him, his arrogant smirk returned (much to my dismay) and he strode over to begin showing off his physical prowess. I scowled and turned my back to him, trying to ignore his counting as I finished my exercise and returned to the path, intending to leave him where he was. Of course, he finished before I could take three steps, shouting "fifty" rather loudly before jogging to my side. My pace became brisk, but he matched it with ease. I was annoyed now.

I think that at this point, whatever it was that had been bothering him into simply saying "hn" in response to everything had been forgotten, because he was a lot more talkative and did more than just snort at my ridiculously average attempts at exercising. I didn't ask about his mood change, knowing I wouldn't get a proper answer in either case, and just let him follow me around the woods–as if I could shoo him away. Throughout the exercise trail, he excelled in everything and proceeding to taunt me about it, and when we reached the squatting pole I was trying to match his time and repetitions just to get him to shut up. I crouched with my back against the pole with him for a full minute before I had to collapse, but he went on for thirty more seconds just to irritate me before calmly standing up again. I _did_ notice the sheen of sweat on his forehead, though, and it gave me a little satisfaction to know that he wasn't as invincible as he proclaimed in every breath.

We fell into a companionable silence as we blazed through the path, and he took the push-up station while I scurried onto the wooden plank for sit-ups. He was obviously finished before I was, and he watched me struggle to complete the twentieth sit-up before I flopped back onto my back and relaxed for a while. The jogging stretches between each station grew longer and longer to test a person's endurance, so I caught my breath before rolling off of the board and hurrying to do my push-ups. I forced myself to do twenty and felt triumphant when I wasn't as out of breath as I thought I would be, and then a slight tugging on my shirt directed me to a ninja who looked ready to jog. Remembering where I was, I nodded and followed him down the longest stretch of the trail, until a silly idea popped into my head and gave me a goofy grin. I could attempt to race him, couldn't I? Sure, he'd win, but it'd still be fun to try. With that in mind, I quickened my pace until I passed him with ease, giggling as I shouted, "Catch me if you can!"

He replied as I dashed off, "Is that so?" I immediately heard footsteps behind me, and I shrieked with laughter before speeding up and trying not to be overwhelmed by his ninja skills. He must have decided to go easy on me, though, because he trailed behind me so I could barely feel him stepping on my ankles. We ran through the rest of the trail, with his abrupt snorts and my raucous giggles filling up the silence of the woods, and when we drew up to the end of the path he suddenly barreled into me when I slowed down a tad to catch my breath. I stumbled forward but was thankfully steadied by his hand on my shoulder, and I laughed it off as I shook my head. _He's so weird, but I can definitely call him an ally._

"Are you going to ignore me again?" I raised an eyebrow at his smug inquiry, and then I realized that he had definitely been irritated when I didn't put my attention immediately onto him.

I scoffed. "Well, if there's something more _interesting,_ then yeah." I grinned when he rolled his eyes at me, and then I looked ahead and mumbled, "It's a good thing Miki can't read minds."

He faltered at the sudden switching of subjects, but quickly caught up to me to ask, "Why's that?"

My honest reply was, "Because I can call you my friend . . . in my head, at least."

_~Fin~_


	10. Tender to the Touch

_Did I tell you guys I was going to make this into a much longer series? I don't think I did. It's definitely going to span more than one arc, so go ahead and feel special. The climax is coming next chapter, and the epilogue of the first arc the next._

_

* * *

_

I was standing in the stairwell in-between classes, minding my own business, when suddenly a rowdy group of freshman barreled around the corner and slammed into me, actually throwing me down the stairs. I sat up at the bottom feeling dizzy and noticed my leg was throbbing in time to my rapid heartbeat, and I looked around only to find that the kids had run off to avoid the blame. _Assholes._ I tried to get up onto my feet only to sit back down with a strangled gasp, the pain that shot up my leg causing my eyes to tear up. _Those assholes! And they don't even help?_

Lucky for me, I had my stalker crouched beside me in a second. When I felt fingers probing my injury through my jeans, I snapped my head around to see Sasuke's thoughtful frown as he prodded a sensitive spot that made me squeak. His fingers stilled, and then he released my leg and stood up to offer me a hand. I hesitated for a moment before taking it, and I was hoisted up rather easily onto my good leg before he moved to compensate the injured one like a crutch. I mumbled my thanks as I tried to focus on getting to the clinic, and he helped partially relieve the burden of my weight to make it easier on me. When we arrived, I was disheartened when he left my side to open the door, but I hopped in myself and sat in one of the plastic chairs. The door closed, and he wasn't inside. I sighed because I should've known he wouldn't enter, but I had sort of hoped that he would just this once.

After getting an icepack and a note back to class, I exited the clinic and was surprised to see him waiting for me outside; he offered his shoulder once more, and I hesitated before wrapping my arm around him so we could walk through the empty hallways. I didn't think his help was really necessary until we came across the stairs, and then I was essentially hopeless as I stumbled up a few before he decided to do all of the work. He lifted me up just enough to run up the stairs without them touching the ground, and before I could protest to his manhandling he set me down at the top to return to our previous arrangement. I frowned but remained silent, and then he left me standing before my class so I could walk in without drawing too much attention. I had wanted to thank him properly, but I blinked and missed him leave.

Fortunately, I wasn't left to fend for myself after that, because when the bell rang and I hobbled out of the classroom I found him standing there waiting for me, as if he was a fellow student that wanted to give me a helping hand. I couldn't help the mischievous smile that appeared on my face when I imagined what Miki's face would look like if she saw us, and I told him that as we started the journey to my next class. He only responded with a "hn," but I could see his mouth twitch from the corner of my eye and felt satisfied. I wasn't going to let him remain silent the entire time, though. "Thank you, really. At least I don't have to worry about getting hurt again because I have a ninja on my side."

His voice was rather smug and contradicted his words. "Flattery will get you nowhere." Glancing at me when I laughed, he assisted me down the stairs much slower, as the more efficient way would've drawn too much attention now that the hallways were filled with students. As we started to go one way, however, he suddenly stopped and turned abruptly, nearly causing me to lose what little balance I had. At my indignant grunt, he coolly explained, "Unless you want to explain this to _her,_ we're going _this way._" My eyes widened, and I went to look over my shoulder only to stumble slightly and hiss in pain. "Focus on walking," he commanded, although he sounded a bit apologetic.

"Okay." I winced at a particularly jarring step and put all of my energy into avoiding more pain, which kept me quiet for much of the walk. The two-minute-warning bell rang when we were halfway there–the path we were taking to avoid his cousin was much longer than my normal one–and I mumbled, "We need to pick up the pace."

"You're injured," he told me calmly. "They won't mind if you're a few minutes late." I wasn't too reassured, but I trusted his judgment since he was, after all, a "prodigy." As if he sensed my uneasiness, he added, "They could always call the clinic to verify your injury."

"Oh, that's great." I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to be known as "the cripple" for the next three months." He only smirked, and I pretended to pout as we became the only teenagers outside of the classrooms without a pass. Ten steps later, the tardy bell rang, and I resigned myself to fate before deciding to strike up another conversation for the last stretch of the trip. "How long are you gonna do this?"

"Help you?" I nodded. "As long as I feel like it."

"That's nice."

"It's true." Chuckling at my dark growl, he admitted, "Actually, I was planning on helping you to your house."

I raised an eyebrow. "You'll "feel like it" for that long?"

"Mhm." It was strange to hear him hum anything other than "hn," and the sound rumbled through his chest and shoulders to my arm. It was like placing my arm around the neck of a cello being played.

I puzzled over his helpful attitude all throughout the day, up until he even helped me into the bus and left just before Miki turned the corner and walked towards it. It was such a close call that I harped on him while we were walking down the street, after she had gone out of sight. "What were you thinking?"

"Oh, she wouldn't have caught me."

"Okay, I _know_ you're a ninja, but that was too close!" I scowled at his arrogant grin and questioned, "What if she had caught you? Would you rather have to deal with her and her drama?"

"Would you have rather gotten on there by yourself?"

"No, I–" I growled when I couldn't think of a proper comeback. "That's not a good reason. You've been dancing right out of her sight all day now, and eventually your luck's going to run out!"

"It's not "luck," it's–"

"Skill, I know." I sighed in defeat. "I just don't want you to get Miki riled up–or to get me caught in the middle of all of this."

"If you were, what would you do?"

I blanched at his question, struck with sheer terror. What _would_ I do? Would I side with Miki, my grudge-holding friend? Or would I support Sasuke, my thoughtful stalker? My morals were suddenly very confused and headache-inducing, and it was then I realized so much had changed that things would never be the same. My voice was so quiet with indecision and fear that I received a curious glance from my living crutch.

"I don't know."

_~Fin~_


	11. Eleven Minutes

I had stayed up all night worrying about it, and yet I still wasn't prepared when it happened.

"You have seven minutes to explain what's going on."

"Fifteen!"

"Nine!"

"Eleven?"

"_Fine._ You have _eleven_ minutes, starting now."

I bit my lip, but inside I was panicking much louder. _Shitshitshit. Miki found out. God, what am I going to do?_ She hadn't liked missing me when I normally saw her in the hallways everyday, and it seemed she had asked around and learned from word-of-mouth that I was accompanied by a strange black-haired teenager wearing blue all day. Putting two and two together, she was furious and decided to confront me while we were alone at the bus stop. I didn't know how to respond.

"Ten minutes."

And I was wasting time! I had to think of something, and so I started very simple. "You shouldn't freak out so much, it was just–"

"It doesn't _matter_ what happened," she interrupted scathingly. "You were with him, _and you didn't tell me about it._"

I winced. _There goes _that_ approach._ Thinking for a moment, I took another path. "There wasn't anything you could do about it, since it had already happened."

"I could prevent it from happening _again._"

"He wasn't hurting anyone."

"Then what happened to your leg?"

"It wasn't him!"

"This is _Sasuke_ we're talking about. What do you mean, "it wasn't him?" "

I took a deep breath and explained how I got injured the day before. "I didn't see enough of their faces to identify them, so I didn't bother reporting it. He . . . helped." I couldn't explain why he was there, unless I wanted her to start on a rant about his stalking issues. "He didn't hurt, he _helped._"

She looked at me suspiciously. "Are you _sure_ you aren't just lying so he won't hurt you?"

"_What?_" I was appalled by her ridiculous behavior. "If I was being abused or something, don't you think you'd notice?"

"He's skilled in harming people without it showing."

She was probably right, but I was getting irritated now. "If you're still not convinced, we can go into the bathrooms at school and I'll _prove_ it. Just stop _blaming_ him!"

"Okay, okay, he didn't hurt you." She didn't sound happy to admit that. "But you've got eight minutes to convince me that he isn't up to something."

My groan turned into a yell of frustration as I threw my hands up in the air. "What do you want me to _do?_ Prove my friendship? Strangle him? _Don't_ answer that one," I added when she went to say something.

"But–"

"No!" My voice cracked horribly as it grew even shriller. "I've _had_ it with this whole hatred thing between you two! You're always smack-talking about him, and he's always scowling at your name, and it's driving me _crazy!_" I pulled at my hair in demonstration, giving an aggravated moan. "I'm _this close_ to smacking the _both_ of you."

"But I–"

"You're not justified! _He's_ not justified! _No one_ is justified to hate _anyone!_" I paused to take a few breaths, feeling exhausted even though the sun had only come up two hours ago. "He shouldn't have to crawl in through my window just to talk to me, and _you_ shouldn't have to be glancing around every corner. I understand that you two can't be friends, but can't _I_ just be friends with both of you? I'm not a part of this family feud between you two!" I threw my arms up wildly, trying to get my point across. "Let this water flow under the bridge! Isn't blood thicker than water, anyways?" I don't even think I was making much sense anymore.

"What if he's up to something, though?" She just wouldn't give it up. "What if he's using you to get to me?"

I gritted my teeth. "I don't _care._ If he _is_ planning something that includes me, then don't worry about it. I'll deal with it. And if he's not, even better! Everybody wins!"

"But if he's planning to hurt you or–"

I was about fed up with ninjas and plotting. "_I'm the weakest link!_ I _get_ it, god damn it! I _know_ I can't do a single thing to protect myself if a ninja decides to _assassinate_ me. But you know what? I'm not going to live in fear for the rest of my life. And _you_ shouldn't live with such a dark grudge." I felt like in the last sentence I was reprimanding Sasuke as well, which made me stop to listen for any muffled "hns." When she didn't move to compromise, I closed my eyes and sighed, rubbing my temples to try to alleviate the migraine I felt building there. "Okay. Whatever. If you can't be my friend because of this, that's fine. It's a stupid reason, but–whatever."

I was tired of the fighting. _I don't care about their reasons anymore. This needs to _stop._ They're holding grudges like children! And I'm _not_ going to be stuck in the middle of it any longer._ I turned away from her and fiddled with my backpack, pretending to be looking for something as I fumed in silence. It wasn't just Miki that I was mad at; Sasuke had some explaining to do of his own. I was ready to ignore them both for an undetermined amount of time until they grew up, if I had to. Deciding I really did need something, I pulled out a paperback and tried to read for several minutes until I realized I had skimmed the same two pages three times. Huffing irritably, I threw it back into my backpack and glanced at Miki beside me, strangely quiet. Others had appeared at the bus stop, but no one moved to talk to us, which was for the best. "What? Have nothing to say?"

"Three minutes," she mumbled, eyes on the ground as if she was thinking over something. I furrowed my eyebrows at her words, wondering why she was still keeping time before I realized she still wasn't convinced. My fury spiked, and I jerked my body around to face her as I watched her sternly.

"I'm only going to say this one more time: He isn't up to anything, he's my friend. That's_ it._" When nothing changed about her, I continued, "You might always hold a grudge against him, but are you willing to let that grudge consume you're entire life and affect everyone you know? If you obsess over it so much that you can't be logical about anything, it'll eventually drive you insane."

"One . . ." A passing car almost drowned out her whisper, and I gave a soft scoff. Then, an idea struck me that shined with pure genius.

"Are you _really_ going to let _him_ affect you this way?"

Her head snapped up, alarmed that he was doing something to her. "What? Affect me how?" I almost smiled at my success but managed to control my expression.

"You're letting him get into your head and give you crazy doubts and fears. Do you really think he'd make such an intricate plan to get to you? He's not that patient. You know that." I let the grin slip onto place to help sell my case. "If anything, he'd be stalking _you._ So don't worry about these nonexistent plans of his." I let her mull over that as the bus screeched to a halt, and I hauled myself to my feet with a grunt (my backpack's rather heavy) before nudging her with my foot. "Let's go." She was silent, which I took as a sign that she was deep in thought, and she didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. I could only hope that was a good thing.

After I stepped off of the bus the second time that day, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see her sour face. Frowning in confusion as the bus pulled away, she directed me to the sidewalk out of the way of a few cars and stood awkwardly for a moment, looking like she was struggling to find her voice. I gestured impatiently, needing to get home at a decent time, and she charged head-on into the conversation with an obvious statement: "I don't like him."

"I know," I sighed resignedly, knowing in my heart it would always be that way.

"But . . ." I perked up at this interesting change, and she scowled at my eager smile. "_But_ that doesn't mean I can tell you who to be friends with." Opening her mouth before hesitating, she slowly closed it and shrugged, looking away, as if that was all she was going to admit.

"So, we're friends again?"

"I'm not telling you that we _have_ to be," she replied defensively, "but I'm saying that I'd _like_ to be." She was unprepared for my ecstatic hug, and she shoved me off roughly as I giggled at her stiff attitude. "And I'm not going to be friends with _him._"

"That's fine." I smiled and added teasingly, "But we _are_ going to hang out together!"

"_What?_"

"Heehee, see you tomorrow!"

"_Harmony!_"

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I grinned at his unhappy expression, and I couldn't stop the snicker that escaped when he asked regretfully, "Do I really have to?"

"Do you really have to ask that question?" His reluctant sigh was the only answer I needed, and I patted him on the back supportively. "Don't worry; I'll be there to make it a bit less awkward."

"A bit?"

"Okay, maybe a speck. But hey, it's better than nothing, right?"

His "hn" was noticeably less enthusiastic than usual, and I stifled my laugh as we walked up to Miki's house. _Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. I mean, if I stand between them, I don't think they can kill each other–without killing me first._ That was reassuring.

_~Fin~_


	12. The Clock Struck Midnight

_I hope you all have enjoyed this first arc of the story and are looking forward to the second arc of this story! I've worked on the next two chapters and have started the third, but don't expect me to rush to update this. This is still a little personal project of mine, and it's not high on my list of priorities. I'll try not to wait more than three weeks to update it, though. Alright? Okay, enough of me babbling. As I'm required to say, read and review, please!_

_Note: Were any of you annoyed by the fact that I didn't name the character until last chapter? I'm a little curious.  
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_~Epilogue~_

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I smiled as the two teenagers glared at each other from across the table. They were battling for dominance, neither of them willing to back down until the other was destroyed. I had never seen them so determined before, and I was interested in how it would all play out. Who would be the victor? How badly would the other lose? And how much blood would be shed beforehand? They weren't exactly the most passive of people–it might've been genetic. Slowly, Sasuke raised his hand in a threatening motion–and moved his bishop across the board. "Checkmate."

"What?" Miki jumped to her feet in disbelief, trailing her finger all across the chessboard to find a way out of defeat . . . and finding that she couldn't. "No! That's not fair! You cheated!"

"Nope," I sang from the couch, enjoying the show that was always promised whenever they competed. "He won _fair and square,_ just like you did in Twister. I think sore-loser-itis is an Uchiha trait or something."

"_No!_ I demand a rematch!" She pointed a finger accusingly at him, growling, "If you really didn't cheat, than you can beat me again, can't you?"

"Of course," was his smug reply, and they were resetting the board with a vigor that could only be a sort of branch-off of sibling rivalry. I snickered behind a hand at their antics before taking a sip of my lemonade and sighing contently. _This is _so_ much better than before, with the stalking and the intense hatred._ I was ready to make them realize that, as family, they had to stick up for one another. _But I'll leave that for another time–baby steps, now. No sense in rushing progress._

I only got to rest for two minutes before I heard Miki's indignant shriek again, and I glanced at them in surprise. "Already?" I noticed that only three of his pieces had been moved, and it looked like he had won in four turns. "How'd you do that?"

"It's a trick I learned from someone," Sasuke explained coolly, and then he fixed the pieces again to show what I had missed. "See, _this spot_ is the weakest point on the board, so don't move your pawn or let it get captured there. It's right in front of the bishop, so it's safe from all of the pieces except the king. Now, if you place _your_ bishop–" He moved said piece into place. "–like so, the king can't take the piece because then it'll be in check because of the bishop. The opponent's other pieces are in the way, so the king can't move anywhere." He replaced the pieces with a smug grin on his face. "You only have to move a pawn so the bishop and queen can get into place."

"Sneaky," I remarked, amazed that the game could be won so easily. Mulling it over for a moment, I looked up at him eagerly and asked, "Can I play?" I didn't care if he was a chess master; Miki had had her turn to play, and it was only fair that the loser had to give up her spot. I jumped into her seat when he humored my request, and then I examined the board and nudged the pawn on the far right up two spaces and waited for his move. He mirrored my action, and he copied me again when I moved the pawn on the far left. Curious, I took out my left knight and was slightly irritated when he did the same with his. "Are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Maybe." He stopped copying me then, choosing to move his rook forward after I pulled out my other knight. "Do you plan on winning?"

"Well, that's the whole point of playing," I told him, moving another pawn. "But I'm just here to have fun. I'm not exactly the best chess player."

"With each defeat, you gain knowledge," he quoted sagely, and I took his words to heart as we waged war upon each other's pieces. I savagely claimed his knight after he captured mine, and we danced around a pawn blockade before his rook got me from behind. As I cursed at being caught unawares, he smirked and prompted me to keep playing. I narrowed my eyes and slid my bishop into position. _It's on now._

I fought valiantly against him, but of course I was soundly defeated by his well-placed bishop and queen. I scowled at my failure and mumbled, "Good game."

"You actually did pretty well, for an "average" player." He half-shrugged at my curious gaze and admitted, "If you hadn't overlooked so many options, you probably would've given me a run for my money. You have the same problem as Miki." Said Uchiha gave an angry huff at his insult, and I waved away the impending argument to thank Sasuke for his advice.

"And you have a problem, too," I told him matter-of-factly, grinning when he raised a dubious eyebrow at my claim. "You're too damn cocky!" He rolled his eyes as Miki and I laughed at his expense, and then her mother kindly offered us some snacks. Nibbling a cookie, I told him, "But that's okay, because I'm pretty confident, too."

He gave me an interested glance. "Really?" When I nodded, he crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, asking, "How so?"

I grinned and gestured broadly around us, pointing out, "Do you think I'd bother trying to hang out with you both at the same time if I didn't think I could handle you two?" At their simultaneous snorts, I nodded to show they had proved my point. "Exactly! So I'm just as bad, if not worse, as you, Sasuke."

"Fascinating way of putting it."

* * *

"Harmony?"

I glanced up from my computer screen as I lied on my stomach, only slightly surprised that Sasuke was standing in my room in the middle of the night. _I wonder what he wants._ "Hm?" _Oh great, he's contagious._

He flicked on the light for me so I didn't strain my eyes, and in return I closed my laptop to give him my full attention. He then shocked me by taking a seat beside me on the bed, and I quickly sat up to give him a concerned look. "Is something wrong?" It wasn't that his proximity was alarming, but the fact that he believed it was necessary to be this close gave me great concern. _Oh great, he's going to break the news to me that he couldn't stop himself from killing Miki._

"No." He shook his head as he crossed his legs to get more comfortable, and I followed suit as I waited for him to do whatever it was he wanted to. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was hesitating, but I believe he was simply choosing the right words. After a few minutes of listening to each other breathe, he finally straightened up and cleared his throat, evidently ready to continue speaking.

"You weren't supposed to be caught in the middle."

I blinked twice before making the connection, not expecting him to speak of that again after the several times the three of us had hung out together–and times the two of them had argued without killing each other. "Oh . . . it's alright."

He disagreed with me. "It was a family affair, but we dragged you into it. I can't speak for _her,_" he barely muttered the pronoun, as if not wanting to talk about Miki right now, "but I know that _I'm_ sorry for that. It wasn't your fault that we had our differences, and you didn't have to mediate between us like that."

I smiled, knowing how hard it must've been for him to admit he was wrong about something. "Don't worry about it. It all worked out in the end; now I can hang out with both of you without worrying about what the other will think." When he didn't seem satisfied with my calm answer, I shook my head to show I wasn't angry at either of them. "Let's leave the past behind us, alright?"

As if to emphasize my words, the clock in the hallway began to chime, informing every sleeping and conscious being in the house that it was now midnight. It was one of those nearly ancient wooden clocks that hung on the wall with a delicate blue jay painted on the front and a little pendulum swinging underneath it. I listened to the familiar tune from my childhood before focusing my attention onto Sasuke again, noticing his fingers twitching restlessly. _That's odd. Normally he has a lot of self-control._ I chose not to ask him about it.

"Alright," he whispered finally, and it took me a moment to realize he was answering my previous request. He met my gaze without flinching, and I was surprised at the determination I found burning in his eyes. He was ready to move on from the past.

I smiled warmly, patting his shoulder in congratulations. "Good. Want to watch Animal Planet?"

* * *

_~End of First Arc~_


	13. Crimson Gaze

_Yeah. Uh, remember what I said about trying not to take to long? I'm sorry for lying, I really am. But my internet connection was destroyed by a pepper tree, so I'm not always guaranteed a chance to get online. Plus I have to write. Plus school started a few weeks ago, so I've been busy with three Advanced Placement classes. I apologize all the same. Forgive me? Anyways, here's the  
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_~Start of Second Arc~_

**13. Crimson Gaze**

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I threw my hands into the air and ran to give Miki a hug. "I can't believe it! It's finally over!"

"I know!" We both squealed and bounced excitedly, and then a certain "hn" drew our attention to Sasuke standing in the front hall looking rather perturbed. He was probably annoyed by all of our noise, and I couldn't blame him; we were very loud people when we wanted to be. His cousin rolled her eyes and asked, "Did you know today was our last day of school this year?"

"I could hear you two screaming a block away," he grumbled, as if that answered her question.

I laughed and shook my head, interrupting Miki before she could start to argue with him. "Well, we can't help it! We've been ready for summer vacation for months now!" I ran a hand over her cat's head, smiling as I thought of all of the good times I'd had at school. "I almost miss it."

"Almost," she repeated with a grin, and we shoved each other a little bit before we ran into the kitchen to abduct some food. Sasuke followed us silently, and I began to wonder what it was like to never have to go to school. _He did go to that ninja school, after all. That's all he's required to do. Miki could've done the same, but she wanted to have more options._ I thought about trying to be a ninja and snorted quietly to myself, knowing I'd never be able to do it. _I'd end up somehow killing myself._ I had told them I had confidence in myself before, but that was only partially true. I also had the lowest self-esteem you could find. _I'm a living oxymoron . . . emphasis on the "moron."_

"Oh." Miki disrupted my thoughts as she paused in making her sandwich. "Towards the end of the summer, I'll be going north with my folks. Sorry, but I'll have to leave you alone with _him._" She cast her cousin a glare, who huffed and rolled his eyes before going to make something for himself. She squirted mustard onto the bread and slapped it over the ham before taking the plate over to the table and brushing aside some old crumbs. I followed soon afterward, claiming the spot beside her, and then Sasuke took his usual seat opposite of us with what looked to be a turkey sandwich. It was strange to eat lunch together, after the months of sneaking around and lying and each of us avoiding the other two at least once, but at the same time I was pleased at the sort of companionable silence that had fallen between us. It made it seem like we all got along like a normal group of friends, instead of me being the mediator between two cousins who were likely to kill each other if I blinked.

Then again, while she fought with Sasuke, I argued with him whenever she wasn't around, making me feel a little bit like a hypocrite when I tried to get them to play nice. I did occasionally disagree with Miki, but it wasn't as bad as either of us with the prodigy of the Uchiha clan. There was just something about him that made me want to strangle him sometimes, even with my oodles of self-control. I was still friends with him, yes, but God, did he infuriate me sometimes. I could partially see why Miki had so much trouble getting used to him being a part of the friendship we had.

Speaking of third wheels, the doorbell rang to alert us of someone at the door, and Sasuke's unenthusiastic "hn" led me to believe it was the blond ninja that tried so hard to be his friend. It would've been funny if it wasn't so sad, and I'd had multiple arguments with the ninja about actually trying to be Naruto's friend. "You'll never know until you try, right?" I tried to convince him, but he just wouldn't budge. His response would always be to insult Naruto's intelligence and then fall silent until he left. I guessed it would take a long time before he was willing to open up to other people, which was understandable considering he was always in trouble of being killed lest he make the wrong move. Miki was ready to strangle him when he left to open the door, but I quickly grabbed her shoulder and told her, "_Leave it . . ._" An angry huff was my reward for caring about my sanity.

"Sasuke!" I heard a dull _thud_ and assumed the ninja had avoided Naruto's enthusiastic hug, and then the blond ran in to see us sitting with half-finished sandwiches. "Miki! Harmony! How are you?" He was very excited and loud about his greetings, and so I stood up and accepted his hug in hopes he'd quiet down a bit. Miki received hers as well, and when Sasuke returned and Naruto joined us after cooking ramen for himself, we all sat at the table semi-compatibly and began to converse about nothing in particular. "Beef ramen is the best flavor."

"Agreed!" Miki made a face and mumbled, "Chicken tastes like plain noodles, and pork just tastes weird."

"But I like pork," was my feeble interjection, but I was promptly ignored as the other two chatted it up about food. I sighed and shook my head, knowing nothing would stop them short of an earthquake, and I turned my attention to the other Uchiha sitting in silence as he finished off his sandwich. Shrugging my shoulders, I asked politely, "So, how're you?"

"Hn." He was noticeably less talkative than usual, as Naruto was sitting beside him and waving his arms wildly to emphasize his words. The calmer ninja gave him a look of disdain before casting me a glance that clearly stated "if you don't get him to stop, I'm going to kill him."

_And here I was hoping he was past murdering people,_ I thought grimly as I snapped my fingers to get the blond's attention when there was a lull in the conversation. "Hey! Naruto! Come here, I want to tell you something." He perked up with curiosity and followed me into the kitchen, and I beckoned him closer so he could hear me when I lowered my voice. "Do you think you could talk with less . . . volume and crazy body language? You were close to knocking Sasuke out."

He blinked as if he hadn't noticed he was doing anything. "Oh. Really? I didn't mean to."

"I know," I gave him a reassuring smile, "but he's really picky about the people who invade his personal space. Just try not to be as energetic, and he might actually say more than "hn" to you." I was glad when he took the advice in good stride and nodded in agreement, and I mentally grumbled, _Sasuke owes me one._ I shook my head and turned to grab a clean cup from the sink, but a movement in the corner of my eye pulled my attention to the kitchen window. I gave a startled gasp when I saw a pale face staring back in, and I barely registered the crimson gaze that locked with mine before someone shook my shoulder and broke my concentration, causing the image to disappear. Did I just imagine it? I was so shaken by the sudden fright that I missed what Naruto asked and had to mumble, "Huh?"

"Are you okay, Harmony?" When I turned to assure him I was fine, he looked rather concerned for my wellbeing. I guessed he hadn't seen the face–he would've mentioned it, I'm sure–so my gasp must've startled him. His worried inquiry caught the attention of the cousins in the dining room, and Miki poked her head in with a curious frown.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" I tucked a bang behind my ear, nervous of their close scrutiny. "I, uh, almost dropped the cup." It was such a lame excuse, but they seemed willing to believe I was alright and didn't push the subject as they both returned to keep Sasuke company. Poor guy. I took a deep breath to slow my heartbeat, sure that everyone could hear it as I poured myself a glass of water, and went back to sit at the table with a calm mask on. I was quiet, though, as I tried to figure out what I had seen. _Was that just my imagination? Did I finally crack? Or was there really someone there?_ There used to be a time when I would asked myself the same questions, back when Sasuke stalked me around. I had hoped I was done with that routine, but I guess Fate wasn't through with me yet. _Who is it _this_ time?_

I blinked out of my deep thoughts to notice that my ex-stalker was staring at me intently, as if he saw through my front and wondered what was troubling me. I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but then something clicked in my mind as I stared at his eyes–his normal, non-Sharingan eyes. _Was that the Sharingan I saw?_ My mind whirled with the possibilities, and I came to a startling realization. _I think . . . I think I just saw Sasuke's brother. Itachi._

_~Fin~_


	14. Fiery Glow

_Eheh. Would it make any difference on how I'm going to be brutally murdered by you guys if I said that I had completely forgotten about this story? No? Well, alright, then. Can't blame a girl for trying._

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**14. Fiery Glow**

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After getting a permit, Miki and her family were allowed to build a bonfire in their backyard one night. She invited me and, as a result, Sasuke over to join them, and we brought out the supplies to make s'mores as it started to get dark out. I jokingly offered to call Naruto to join us and was punched in both of my arms by the cousins in a remarkable team effort, and then we settled down on plastic chairs around the fire, eager to begin. I was politely offered a graham cracker by her mother, and I started to construct my own delectable treat as the adults talked about another time they had done this a few years back. "Miki had a problem with dropping her marshmallows into the fire, and she'd always want to get it back with the stick. "Oh, it's still good! Ten second rule!" " The old man chuckled at his daughter's irritated growls. "Ah, those were the days, alright."

"_Daaaaaad!_" The embarrassed teen threw her marshmallow at her father, who only laughed as he dodged it expertly and handed her another one for her stick. Pouting and glaring at me and Sasuke when we couldn't suppress our snickering, she let her marshmallow hover over the hungry flames as she sulked in her chair. Shaking my head, I glanced at her cousin and watched him as he turned his stick to roast it evenly over the fire, almost as if he had experience with this sort of thing. _Funny, I never thought of him as a s'mores kind of guy._ Mentally shrugging, I focused on creating a sandwich with my graham crackers and taking a bite out of the savory treat.

"Mmm . . ." I licked my lips and sucked on my fingers for the bits of chocolate and marshmallow that had stuck to them. "This is awesome! I haven't had s'mores in _years._ My family used to have a bonfire every New Year's Eve, but we kinda fell out of the tradition."

"Not enough time?" Miki's mother hummed in understanding when I confirmed her suspicions. "Well, your parents have to work, so that's understandable. They're probably too tired to stay up late." The conversation picked up from there, drifting from busy lives to what their vacation would be like, until the adults yawned and decided to take their leave. "Don't stay up too late, now!"

"We won't," I reassured them, ignoring Miki's indignant scoff as I watched her parents walk inside the house. The silence stretched between the three of us as we ate our marshmallows, and then I decided to break it as I turned to her and asked, "So, doing anything big this summer? I'm just gonna stay home and be lazy most of the time, I hope."

"You mean other than going up north?" When I nodded, she put a finger on her chin thoughtfully and hummed. "Hm. Well, I was thinking we could go to the beach sometime. What do you think?"

"Sure!" I grinned at the thought of playing in the waves and relaxing in the sun, but an apathetic grunt from my other side alerted me to Sasuke's dislike of the idea. "Oh, come on, a little sun'll do you good, you vampire." Reminded of a song and beginning to hum the tune, I waved my stick in time with the beats as the other two constructed more s'mores. _Boy, that'll be a blast!_ I was already deciding on what swimsuit I was going to wear as the crickets and cicadas made their own music in the darkness of the night, and my eyes rested on the fiery glow of the campfire in the center of the circle of chairs as I went over the possibilities. _I could always wear the dark blue one . . . don't I have a matching skirt with it?_

I was brought out of my thoughts when Miki made another suggestion for conversation. "Hey, let's play a game! Like . . . Would You Rather!" She grinned at the idea, as if remembering some hilarious games in the past where she had forced someone to play–aka me. Rolling my eyes at my own less pleasant memories of the questioning, I was interrupted from protesting when she turned to Sasuke to taunt, "Hey, emo kid, play with us! You're always all grumpy and "hn"-ful."

_Well, crap. If she's determined enough to try convincing _him,_ then I'm _never_ getting out of this game._ Sighing heavily at the misfortunes I was sure to encounter this time, I waited halfheartedly for her to go on with the reason she really wanted to play this game: To torture me.

"Alright . . . Harmony!" I sighed at her predictable choice and waited for her ridiculous question. "Would you rather . . . sleep in a bed of snakes or a bed of hornets?"

I made a face at the decision. "They're both horrible! I mean . . . God, why would you _do_ that to me?" I grimaced as the dim firelight cast an eerie glow on her smirk, making her look like a ravenous monster looking to devour my soul–or maybe that was just my imagination at work again. Shaking the image away and forcing myself to make my choice, I sighed irritably and mumbled, "Snakes, I guess . . . although they freak me out." A snort from the only male there caused me to glower at his amusement. "Hey! Shut up!"

"Okay, okay," Miki waved away the impending one-sided argument, "your turn, Sasuke."

". . . hn." His eyes slid between us as if sizing up which would give a funnier response, and then he turned to me with a grin at the resigned expression on my face. _How did I know he'd pick me?_ "Harmony, would you rather . . . sit in a room with Naruto for an hour, or with me?"

The way my eyes widened and jaw opened in horror was enough to make Miki hysterical, and I squeaked, "Wha–that's even _worse!_ I mean, Naruto's loud and overactive, while you're . . . _you!_" Dismayed to make such a difficult choice, I bit my lip as I turned my eyes to the fire as if for guidance. "Uhh . . . crap. That's hard."

"You have to make a choice," Miki's sing-song voice was very smug, "or you'll have to pay the price!"

_Oh, geez._ Last time I had to "pay the price," I had to run down the street with my underwear on the outside of my clothes screaming gibberish while she stumbled after me laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach. Not wanting to endure such a horrible fate like that again, I narrowed my eyes and glared at her before turning to Sasuke to say, "Much as I love that idiot blond, I'd rather keep my hearing and deal with your harassment. So, you." He looked a bit satisfied by my choice, and I was wondering if he would have been offended had I picked Naruto after all. Brushing away the thought for now, I looked at Miki with an eager grin. "My turn! So . . ." I took her crossed arms and bored expression as a challenge. "Would you rather hang out with Sasuke for the entire day–"

She almost leapt out of her plastic chair. "Nope! Whatever the other option is, I take it!"

"Or have another year of Ms. Cauldik's class. Okay!" By the crestfallen look on her face, she hadn't expected such a terrible thing to be suggested, but she stood by her decision defiantly as she stuck out her tongue at her cousin. "Your turn, Miki!"

"Okay. _Harmony._" She grinned when I winced, knowing that I knew how much trouble I was in after doing that to her. "Would you rather . . . have someone watch you sleep, or shower?"

"_What?_" I physically drew back at the bizarre question, my gaze flickering over to the blue-garbed ninja who looked suspiciously indifferent towards the question. _Oh God, now I'm paranoid._ Trying not to look like an idiot, I picked the obvious answer: "Sleep, duh! Can't believe you would even ask that . . ."

"Miki." Both of us jumped at the unexpected call and glanced curiously at Sasuke. His expression didn't reveal any of his thoughts, and I silently thanked God for letting me slide this time. _I'm more afraid when I _can't_ see him plotting evilly._ "Would you rather have someone watch you shower . . ." Here, his lips quirked slightly, and the shadows the fiery glow cast on his face made him look especially demonic. "Or, would you rather hang out with me for a day?"

"Ouch," I commented quietly, then ducked my head when she cast me a furious glare that said "watch it." _Yikes, _she's_ got a tough choice. But hey, it's indirect payback for all of the things you've done to me!_ Silently rooting for her cousin and planning to reward him liberally next time I had the chance, I waited impatiently for her answer. _Come on, it's not like you'll _die_ if you take a shower. Haha, I'm so evil. I must be secretly part Uchiha._

". . . ugh. You're a jerk, Sasuke." Making a face at the both of us, she bit her lip anxiously before sighing dramatically and throwing her hands up in the air. "Alright, alright, fine! Since you guys are so _desperate_ to get me to hang out with Sasuke, I'll pick that." She shivered and rubbed her arms like she was cold, or as if she felt unclean after saying such a thing. She jerked a thumb to the ninja that had just questioned her and growled, "Okay, tough guy, riddle me this: Would you rather have to hang out with Naruto for an hour . . . or . . ." She was really working her malicious expressions tonight, it seemed. "Make out with him?" I was too frightened of her to point out she had skipped me.

He immediately gagged as if he had a cherry stuck in his throat, and both of us burst into hysterical laughter as he went on to make disgusted grimaces at his cousin's suggestion. I barely managed to choke out, "At least if you're kissing him, he'll be quiet!" I was then the target he practiced with by throwing several branches, and he tossed a marshmallow in between Miki's eyes to make her stop and stare at her nose in bewilderment.

"The first option," he was loath to decide, although considering the lingering scowl on his face it was the much better option in his opinion. He then jerked his head in my direction to remind me to ask, only uttering a disgruntled, "Hn."

"Hm . . . okay." I stared across the lawn to try to gather my thoughts, but then something startled me into forgetting all about our little game: Another glimpse of the pair of blood red eyes that watched me expectantly. I gave a sharp gasp at the sudden interruption of my thoughts, and literally a split-second after the shadowy figure had disappeared Sasuke was on his feet and glancing around to find out what had scared me. I pointed at the spot the eyes had been, and as he went to investigate it I mumbled, "That's the second time I . . ."

"What?" Miki was immediately by my side with a concerned look on her face, and she asked carefully, "What do you mean, "second time?""

I returned her frightened stare calmly, something that didn't match how rapidly my heart was beating. "I saw him before. I mean, I didn't really see his _face,_ but I–"

"Do you know who it was?" Sasuke suspended my explanation for something more important, and he gave me a serious look that revealed he already had an idea of the mysterious person's identity. I nodded grimly, not wanting to voice my feelings but knowing it had to be done, and told him all that he needed to know.

"He had red eyes . . . the Sharingan."

_~Fin~_


	15. Golden Memories

_To be honest, I have quite a long storyline already, well, _ready _for this fic. I just have too much to worry about for the time being to continue diligently on this one when I have more important stories and things on my mind. After all, just to state a few, I have midterms for three Advanced Placement classes and a Marine Corps inspection where I'm commanding an entire company to fret over. So don't be surprised if it takes a while for the next chapter to come out. You're lucky I remembered this story at all as it is. *forgetful*__  
_

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**15. Golden Memories**

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I had passed this particular picture frame several times before when I had visited Miki's house, but my curiosity finally got the better of me and caused me to ask her about it. "When was this taken?" The frame itself was a rich gold hue, reflecting the sunlight that crept in through the window onto the walls of her house like a disco ball, and the photograph behind the plate of glass contained a cheerful family in front of a pristine lake somewhere to the north. I was sure such a special picture had to have such golden memories, and I wasn't disappointed when Miki's face brightened as she started to retell the story of the trip.

"Oh, _that's_ a photo of the last time me and my folks went up north to visit family. It's wonderful up there! They have a cabin built right next to a lake, and it's surrounded by forest and animals for miles and miles. It's almost like a vacation spot, but my relatives live there all year round! I imagine it gets unbearable in the winter months, though; they have to shovel away many feet of snow every day."

"Wow," I mumbled in awe, already picturing the house in my mind. I had always had a thing for little cabins in the woods, just like in the movies or books where hunting or trapping families barely scraped by to make a living but enjoyed every moment of it, and my imagination really ran wild with the idea of visiting family up there. _They could go hunting bears, or fishing in the lake, or foraging for berries and fruit in the woods, or–oh man, she's so lucky._ Sighing heavily at the boring plans that lied ahead of me–as in no plans–I told her grudgingly, "Hope you enjoy it up there."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I already apologized for that, Harmony! Just try not to let Sasuke kill anyone while I'm gone, okay?" Patting me on the back encouragingly, she pointed at another photograph and said, "And there's the time we went hiking in the mountains, back when I was eight."

"Oh, no way." I crossed my arms childishly and pouted. "I've _always_ wanted to go hiking . . . don't tell me you've gone camping, too."

"Okay, I won't." She smiled at my sour scowl and tried to dislodge my angry mood by asking about my own summers. "Where's the farthest _you've_ gone?"

"To the closest water park," I admitted bitterly, quoting the text I had seen on the welcome sign there, " "where summer was meant to be spent!" Ugh, the water slides were _terrible._ Kept on giving me wedgies. And I'd always get water up my nose!"

"Well, at least _you_ swim better," she replied with a roll of her eyes, reminding me of the times we had gone to the pool and she had remained in the shallower end. "I hate water parks because they're always so deep and stormy."

"Stormy?" I snickered at her choice of words, ducking away from her fist as she tried to punch me. "You mean from all of the fat people doing cannonballs?" We both laughed at the mental image, and we wiped our eyes of happy tears just as Sasuke strolled in from the other room, bag of potato chips in one hand and a soda in the other. We had raided the closest gas station of snacks and drinks and stashed them at Miki's house, and we nibbled on the teeth-rotting foodstuff whenever her parents weren't looking. _We don't need another "take care of your teeth" speech, after all._ Grinning and reaching over to grab a chip, I giggled when he slapped my hand away before asking, "Hey, have _you_ ever been to a water park? I can't see you in swim trunks."

"That's because I'm not _wearing_ any," he replied smartly, not even grinning when I rolled my eyes at his remark. He then walked past us and collapsed rather un-ninja-like onto a beanbag chair to pick up a controller and start up the game console, seeming to ignore our curious stares as he began to play the racing game inside.

"Sheesh," Miki muttered quietly, "what a grouch."

It was only after she joined him on a separate beanbag chair and I had grabbed a bag of chips for myself that I realized what was making him so irritable; it hit me when I passed the picture frame that had started the conversation in the first place, and as I stared at the happy people in the photograph I realized with a start that there was no cheery Sasuke among them. _He doesn't have any pictures like this of big family vacations . . . because he doesn't _have_ a family._ And we had been chatting about it amiably, completely forgetting about the other Uchiha in the kitchen who could hear every word we said. A pang of sympathy struck me straight through as I glanced at the black-haired teen sitting before the television set, eyes glued to the screen as if he hadn't been eavesdropping on our conversation, and I wondered what he was thinking. I could imagine he was deep in thought, and I bit my lip guiltily as I felt sorry for my thoughtless words before.

_I'm sorry, Sasuke . . . I didn't mean it. Honestly._ But he couldn't read my mind, and there was no way those words were going to come out comprehensibly.

_~Fin~_


	16. Green With Envy

_I apologize for taking much longer than I really needed to update this story__, but in my defense, I've decided to rewrite the first arc so it's up-to-par with the rest of my stories when it comes to writing talent. (Beca__use, let's be honest: I've gotten _way_ better as this story's come along.) Of course, I haven't started on the rewriting yet... Eheh. _

_...but still. *stubborn brat*_

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**16. Green With Envy**

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"Oh, stop pouting, Harmony."

I refused to retract my puffed-out lip, defiantly sticking it out even further just to spite them as they rolled their eyes and continued their strenuous exercises. I had suggested going on the workout trail earlier, and while Miki was obviously eager her cousin was more reserved about his agreement with the idea. To my surprise, however, the two Uchiha stopped when we came across the halfway point of the trail, and any questions I offered were ignored as they faced each other with determined expressions on their faces–and then, they were gone! I blinked and missed what had happened in that split-second, but the clang of metal against metal called my attention to the two locked with their kunai scraping against each other. They had launched into an epic duel of sorts, and I was feeling pretty left out as they displayed their ninja prowess with equally terrifying precision and arrogance.

"Show-offs."

"Don't get angry because you can't do this," the male Uchiha taunted, and I decided to stick my tongue out instead and watched with satisfaction as he was shoved back by Miki and forced to focus on the practice battle. Glad that he didn't have the time to taunt me, I sat on the sidelines and watched green with envy as they ran up the trees trunks to duke it out on the branches above my head. _Stupid ninjas,_ I thought glumly even as I wished I could be like them. _Have to be so amazingly fit and cool-looking. Not fair._

Sasuke leapt and clashed with Miki in midair, and then they landed on branches on either side of the path I stood on, shaking a few leaves loose to rain down on me. _It's a bit too early for fall, _I thought sarcastically, trying to cheer myself up as I listened to their battle above me. It wasn't possible that they were amazing at everything. There had to be something I was better at, wasn't there? Suddenly, I was on an epic quest of my own, trying to find the one talent that I surpassed them both with.

_Drawing?_ No, I could barely manage a circle, let alone something professional. _Writing?_ The last written assignment I had to write made my teacher laugh–never a good sign. _Numbers?_ The memory of sudoku quickly destroyed that faint hope. _Beating up my brother?_ Nope. Ninjas. _Then what the hell am I good at?_

I scraped a leaf from my head and scowled as it fluttered to the ground, blaming it for all of my problems. "This is all _your_ fault," I told it, mildly aware that I had breached insanity by this point but not really caring either way. There was literally nothing I could do that the two Uchihas couldn't somehow do better, and it was getting me frustrated. The hard part about having ninjas for friends was the fact that they always one-upped you.

Suddenly, a rush of black hair blurred my vision before I was able to comprehend what had happened, and I heard Miki shout angrily, "What the hell was _that,_ you asshole?" When the leaves settled, I realized she was standing before me holding a kunai by the blade, and it took a bit of kindergarten-level critical thinking for me to connect it with the fact that Sasuke stood on a branch above us with a mask of perpetual calm on. _Did he–he couldn't have missed Miki that bad, could he? Mm, no, but . . . he couldn't have been throwing it at _me _. . . could he?_

As if he wasn't about to get mauled by his cousin, Sasuke leapt down to the path and crossed his arms, raising a mocking eyebrow as if she was crazy. "Hn?"

"_That,_ you idiot! What was _that!_" When he didn't seem to get it, Miki waved her arms wildly and shouted, "Harmony doesn't even have a _tenth_ of the reflexes I do!" They both ignored my sour face, staring each other down with as much tension between them as I thought had disappeared since we started hanging out together. "You could've _killed_ her!"

The seriousness of the situation didn't seem to touch him, for he gave half of a shrug and leaned to the side, giving another, "Hn." Then, when she seemed about ready to explode, he explained simply, "I knew you'd catch it for her."

_Was that a test of reflexes, or friendship, or . . . geez, I don't even know. They're both crazy._ And in that instant, I realized my talent, and I was even less satisfied than when I thought I didn't have one. _I have a talent with catching insane friends._

_~Fin~_


End file.
